Shoe guard



'J. HOLMEN.

SHOE GUARD. hPPLlCATlON FILED APR- 5, 1920 28,282. Patented Sept. 5, 1922.

Patented Sept. 5, 1922.

JACOB Hora/inn, or RAGINE, WISCONSIN.

' sfrIoE Guam) Application filed April 5,

To all 'whom it may concern: I Be it known that I, JACOB HoLMnN, a subject of Denmark, and resident of Racine, in the county of Racine and State of VVisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Shoe Guards; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

invention has for its object to provide a simple, economical and effective shield for protecting the shank portion of a boot or shoe while the wearer is doing such manual Work as .spading or shoveling,di'tch digging and sewer work, also -in climbingladders and'spike poles or the like.

-The protecting shield or stirrup is especially serviceable when used in connection with rubber boots or foot wear which would likewise quickly become cutforworn out at the sole shank by the ordinary method of applying power to the upper sharp edge of a shovel, spade or analogous metallic tools k shank portion of a boot ors'hoe asshown with/its rear edge in engagementwi'th the heel ofthe boot. The pad asshown i.s 'tran swhich are forced intothe ground by foot P w v: I i

As a practical boot and shoe maker, I have found that expensive rubber boots will freq'uently be cut out in a short time by laborers employed in moist ground work wherein it is necessary for them to use such rubber toot Wear and wherein they are called upon to use shovels in manually digging. p

I have also ascertained by actual experiment that a stirrup or pad for protecting the sole of a boot or shoe must be of fibrous material to resist thefcontinuation of wear upon it and with this in view, specific objects of my invention-are to provide a shank pad of tough fibrous 'material which canreadily be attached tothe sole of a rubber boot by a simple strap connection and which can be readily removed when not in use so as to prevent any impediment in the use of the boot under ordinary conditions.

To provide a. high grade'pliable fibrous pad such for example as a staple soleleather which is capable of resisting wear and to provide in connection with this comparatively expensive material a cheaper grade of strap connections so that the pad can be readily attached or detached from the shoe or boot to provide in some instances a stirrup of the character described'wherein the comparatively expensive pad portion can be renewed when worn by simply removing the 1921). Serial No. 371,379.

worn pad and attaching a new pad section to the upper "StllILip members.

I With these'and minor objects in view'the invention consists in certain peculiarities of construction, combination and arrangement of the parts, which will be hereinafter set forth with reference to the accompanying drawings and subsequently claimed In the accompanying drawings .Figure 1 represents a side elevation of'the stirrup embodying the featureso f my in vention. the same being shown attached't'o a rubber boot ready for use, and

Figure 2 is a perspective view ofthe stirrup looking toward the rear thereof with the retaining ankle strap end spread apart.

Referring by character tothe drawingr'l represents a concavo conveXpad strip which is preferably composed of a high gradesole leather adapted to resist'th'e maximum' 'we'ar to which it may be subjected. I, y V

This pad is adapted to be fitted ,to' the versely positioned withreterence to "thjejl'i'oot sole and its upper edges are 'curvedfju pwardly as shown at 2-2 to form "flanges be secured by stitching or other means known to the art. The side straps 3 are out from scraps ofleather of a cheaper variety whereby the cost of the stirrup ismaterially reduced due to the fact that this material strain and wear put upon it.

from this point-the said straps are gradually contracted in widtha-nd inclined backwardly 1 toward the heel so as to form a lineflof connection withthe pad approximately in the line of strain put upon said pad to hold it in its proper position. i

The side straps also form protectors for f resist wear, but which will also prevent slippage when the person using the stirrup is operating metallic shovel by imparting thereto, pressure which is absorbed upon the body of the pad.

It should also be obvious that the up turned flanges of the pad taken in conjunction with the flared lower lapped surfaces of the side straps, form a reinforced joint when secured, which will thus eliminate wear that will particularly come at this point of the stirrup, due to rubbing contact against the metal, sides of a shovel handle.

Still a further advantage of this pliable construction is that not only the pad and side straps are pliable, but that the ankle strap and side straps are of cheap thin material, which is not subjected to strain and which will compensate readily to the boot of the wearer and render movements of the foot free.

Obviously while I have shown a solid side strap in some instances for cheapness of construction I may provide a skeleton structure for the same.

The upper ends of said side straps have riveted or otherwise secured thereto an ankle strap 5, which is provided at one end with a standard buckle 5 and the other end of said strap is suitably apertured for the en gagement of the buckle tongue whereby the stirrup may be readily secured or fastened to the boot. Attention is directed also to the fact that while I have described the pad particularly for use in connection with protecting the bottoms of rubber boots or shoes this stirrupmay also be used for soft soled shoes of any type when the wearer of the same wishes to use such soft soled shoes for garden work with a shovel and while I have particularly designed a fine grade of sole leather for the pad proper in practice it may be found satisfactory to use some composition material for example such as cotton and rubber or neolin.

I claim:

As a new article of manufacture, a protector stirrup for rubber footwear comprising a shank pad composed of tough pliable fibrous material for completely covering the instep, whereby slippage is resisted, the transverse edges of the pad being curved upwardly to form flanged elements for a reinforced seam, side straps having .flared lower edges lapping the flanged element of the pad, on the inner sides thereof and ex tending in substantially vertical planes, a plurality of rivets securing the lowerfiared edges of the straps to the flanged elements of the pad, whereby a reinforced joint results conforming to the arch of a boot, and an ankle strap secured to the upper edges of the side straps on the inner sides thereof at a point substantially vertically above the front of the heel, said side straps being of gradually increasing width from said point of securement to said pad and exerting lifting tension on the front of said pad, the ankle strap and side strap being of thin pliable material, whereby the stirrup, as a whole, is compensated when fitted to a boot.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing l have hereunto set my hand at Racine in the county of Racine and State of Wisconsin.

JACOB HOLMEN. 

